Flame Kissed Wings
by Iced Perfection
Summary: AUish. Based on "The Firebird." When a young prince falls in love with a girl bound by a spell, he must rely on the help of the mysterious Firebird he is suddenly bound to by Fate. But is the one he truly loves who he thinks it is? What awaits our prince?
1. I, i: Introduction

**"Flame-Kissed Wings"

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**A/N: **This is a story that takes place in the future of Gold Crown City, which can sometimes be referred to GCC or just Crown City, so don't get confused. The original characters will have mentions from stories and such, but no appearances. This is a modern tale.  
This story also draws heavily on the elements of Stravinsky's _The Firebird._

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Summary: A city is plagued with an epidemic - an epidemic of _magic_. But no one knows where it comes from. The arrival of a strange group of women and their sole male companion seems to be initially coincidental, though is eventually apparent that the two are connected. Melrose, the arrogant, so-called "prince" of Gold Crown City's acclaimed dance academy, falls in love with one of the new girls, but has no idea how dangerous she is. His new companion, Dusk, must help him realize his mistake before it's too late. But even she holds her own secret, one that could put Mel in potential mortal danger. Can Mel, blinded by infatuation, find his grip on reality or will he fall victim to _her_ like so many others?

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_Act I  
Scene I  
_"Introduction"

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This city used to be alive. It used to pulse with energy, dirty, and dangerous. And now, it's something else.

On the outside, it looks exactly the same as it was, but underneath all the glamour and the grit, Gold Crown City has changed.

We used to not have much to do at night around the city but dance—we knew nothing of the lives of others our age living in other cities with far more modern and vivacious ways of living, even though our city was pretty advanced for the time as it were. Other teenagers like us, ones who frittered away their lives and money just as easily as we gave our time to practice, were outsiders to us. We had no idea of their existence or any desire to know of them.

That is, until _they_ came into town.

Thirteen girls, one guy. I'm still not sure of their relationship, but…

Anyway, they're the reason we're in this mess. Our teachers warned us not to, told us to stay in the dorms and practice. But even they had no idea of what one man and a baker's dozen of girls were capable of in such a short time.

What, you ask?

What, indeed.

See, there was this club—The Edge—that no one could stay away from. We'd even run into a fair number of teachers there, the ones that warned us to stay away, ones who told us they couldn't help us practice because they had their own work to attend to. Work, my ass.

So, it was here at The Edge that it all began. This is where my troubles started, where Misfortune stole me away from Fate and began tightening her grip on my—wait.

…No. This isn't right.

This is not where it started. No. My tale begins far from The Edge. Well, not too far, in reality, but at the same time, I could hardly believe I was still inside the city the whole time it happened. I remember, to this day, the very instant I met her, the day I first laid eyes on such a wondrous creature in that old, familiar warehouse just after dusk. It was Fate that drew us together, Fate that entwined our strings together so we could not attempt to run from our destiny in case we should falter. I saw her—her and her dusky-gold eyes and her fiery-blond hair—and knew immediately that my life as I knew it was gone.

I remember exactly what happened next: she held out her hand after a moment of hesitation. She seemed to struggle against her actions, against her decisions. It was as if she had no will, as if she was acting on someone else's part, pulled along by invisible threads.

"Would…will…you dance with me?" she asked softly, voice barely above a whisper. The words had risen to her throat unwillingly, it seemed. I could feel it. But I was still taken aback by her appearance, her fiery beauty outshining many of the lead dancers at the academy. It was unnatural: that much, I expected. I'd guessed by then that she was no ordinary human. I mean, really—there was no way a girl like her had business in such a place in which I found her, an old, abandoned warehouse that used to make our costumes for us before a fire ruined much of the interior and exterior, forcing the workers to move elsewhere. Fading sunlight feebly shone through the gaps in the roof, quickly fading shortly after I met her.

I'd been drawn to the warehouse, I think, just as she was compelled to speak to me. Neither of us was acting on our own, drawn toward each other forcefully as if our lives depended on it. I had ended up in the warehouse purely by chance, returning from a visit to my sisters' apartment, suddenly realizing I had no idea where I was until I saw the old signs warning against being on the property informing us that the structures were weak and could collapse at any minute. I had met her in such a precarious situation, one that could kill us both so easily. We were gambling with Fate by staying there, each minute ticking away increasing the chance we could have both been killed.

Her arm, still outstretched, was trembling. I looked at it only a moment more before taking it.

And so we danced. At first, I struggled to keep up, her grace and skill overpowering for me, even as a senior, her power surprising for someone so strange as her. I had assumed her movements would be like her words, hesitant, restrained, afraid. Instead, they were purely natural, purely of her own accord and will, of her own doing.

At last, just when I felt like I was about to break, we had danced so long, she pulled away gently, the music I had begun to hear keep rhythm with us fading softly into oblivion. She curtsied to me, gracefully, and looked up into my eyes.

"Yes. You are worthy. You have proven yourself to me."

She brought her arms down gracefully in a circle, hands cupped as a light began to shine gently between her palms, growing into a feather-shaped form. When it finished growing, I drew back, startled: the feather was smoldering in her hold, though did not seem to burn the girl at all. Her eyes questioned me, arms extending further to offer me the mysterious, flaming feather.

I reached out slowly, hesitation before realizing that it was not hot at all, not even warm.

"I pledge myself to you, Melrose. You may do as you wish with me." She curtsied again, almost out of obligation, though it did not seem to me that she knew what she was saying or doing. I stared at the girl, still clutching the flaming feather, unsure of what to say.

'_But…How does she know my name?'_

And so our destinies had crossed and intertwined…and at a most inconvenient time, might I add.


	2. I, ii: The Enchanted Garden of Kashchei

**"Flame-Kissed Wings"

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**A/N: **Mm, I'm on a roll~ Except you know that means I'll hit a wall here soon. :P /knocks on wood/ Hope you all enjoy~! :D Please comment and critique this if you have time!

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**Summary: A city is plagued with an epidemic - an epidemic of _magic_. But no one knows where it comes from. The arrival of a strange group of women and their sole male companion seems to be initially coincidental, though is eventually apparent that the two are connected. Melrose, the arrogant, so-called "prince" of Gold Crown City's acclaimed dance academy, falls in love with one of the new girls, but has no idea how dangerous she is. His new companion, Dusk, must help him realize his mistake before it's too late. But even she holds her own secret, one that could put Mel in potential mortal danger. Can Mel, blinded by infatuation, find his grip on reality or will he fall victim to _her_ like so many others?

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_Act I  
Scene II_  
"The Enchanted Garden of Kashchei"

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"_What_ did you say you were, again?" Mel said, knitting his eyebrows closely together in confusion. He stopped in mid-bite, trying to make sense of her words.

"A Firebird," the girl sitting across from him said nonchalantly, as if she were mentioning that she was really a woman. She brushed a bit of her fiery blond hair behind an ear, readjusting the white, gold-trimmed halter top she wore to free her hair from the beads on her top.

Mel put his fork down beside his plate, swallowing before throwing another question out to the girl who sat with her arms crossed, not eating, to see if he could get her to tell him more. He rolled up the sleeves of his school uniform, suddenly realizing he was in the direct sun while she remained in the shade of the umbrella over their table on the patio of the café near the academy. "So you mean to tell me you're actually a mythical creature? Like a Unicorn?" He then pulled off his tie, wishing he'd sat on the other side, even though it had been mostly in the sun when their conversation started.

She gave a laugh that was unlike any laugh he'd heard before. It was almost sharp, yet gentle at the same time, any airiness that would have existed swept away by her fiery nature. "I'm not so sure I'd like to be compared to a creature like that, but, yes, in a sense, I am somewhat like a unicorn." She smiled. "Haven't you heard of the legend of the Firebird?"

Mel shook his head after hesitation, trying to remember if he had, but hadn't. All he knew was that it looked like a Phoenix. He knew that Phoenixes were fiery birds that burst into flame every thousand years and were reborn from their ashes, but that was just a story. How different could Firebirds be?

"The Firebird is, as you say, supposedly a mythical creature who roams about the magical realm of Kashchei the Immortal, the keeper of the gardens where she dances."

"Dances?" Mel interrupts. "If it's a Fire_bird_, how can it dance?"

One glare from her fiery eyes is enough to silence him.

"The gardens, while magical, are a dangerous place. There are other things and people living there that can kill you with a single look. You must take care when wandering through that place, if you're unlucky enough to wander in there in the first place." She shifted in her seat, skirt wrinkling slightly as she leaned back against the chair, crossing her ankles carefully under her chair to keep the heels from hitting her skin. "The Firebird will aid anyone who catches her in anything they need done. For example, I once helped a woman find her true love again, who had somehow found his way halfway across the world by himself." Her eyes became distant. "That was many years ago."

"So, how old are you, exactly?"

Her head snapped up in annoyance. "I think it's a bit rude to be asking that kind of question so early on. Don't you know how to act around women?"

Mel made a small noise in his throat to express his own annoyance and irritation with the girl's attitude toward him. "Of course I do!" His eyes wandered behind her as he found himself staring at a rather large group of women crowded around one table about a hundred yards from the pair.

They all appeared to be the same age, around Mel's. He studied each one closely, thankful that none were looking his way. His eyes fell on one, the one who looked slightly different from the rest, even though each had their own…_unique_ features.

Her hair fell in silver sheets around her tiny frame, which looked so fragile from where Mel was sitting. Her eyes, a pale, pale blue, looked like small moons, framed by silver waves of hair around her face. She never stopped smiling, a gentle smile playing on perfectly pink lips that were small and slightly round in shape.

The girl opposite Mel turned around to see where his attention had pulled him to. She raised her golden-red eyebrows. "Ah, we've found the objects of our desire, have we?" she smiled, though it seemed more like a smirk than anything.

"So, ah…?"

"Dusk," she supplied.

"Right. Dusk—you said that you would, as a Firebird, be able to help me do anything I needed to, that you would aid me no matter the cost, because I 'caught' you. Is that true?"

Dusk nodded simply. "That's what I said, no?"

"Well, then, can you make it so she falls in love with me?" He pointed over to the group of girls, trying to single out the silver-haired girl so that Dusk could see who he meant.

Dusk smiled in half-amusement. "Of course, Mel. What else would I be here for?"

"…About that." Mel folded his arms across his chest and leaned back. "I don't think what happened last night was fair. I didn't win anything. You stopped it right before—"

"Shh." Dusk placed a finger to her lips, silencing the young man across from her. "You wouldn't know the fate of the Firebird, and, as such, would not understand. Maybe I can explain it to you someday, but as of right now, I will help you in your quest. I will help you get her attention and win her heart."

Mel grinned back at her. "Sounds like a plan."

Dusk's head suddenly whipped back around to face Mel, trying to hide her face between her hands placed on either side of it, shielding an unseen force.

"What's wrong?" Mel asked, confused once more.

"It's…_him_! Oh, Mel, you had to choose _his_ girls, didn't you? _Dammit_!" she cursed, not caring if anyone heard, desperately trying to calm down and find a way to leave without his noticing. "Mel, we have to leave _now_!"

"Now? But what about my lunch?" he protested. "And her?"

"You can get food back at the academy, can't you? And there are other fish in the sea; don't pick her!" She looked at him with pleading eyes, the spark that was usually present fading quickly in fear. "Please, Mel!"

Mel sighed, defeated. "Fine. We'll leave." He left his plate, food half-eaten, with cash (and tip) on the table, rising to follow Dusk, who was making a beeline for the exit that connected the café to the academy by skywalk, throwing one last longing glance at the silver-haired girl. Startled, he noticed she was now looking right back at him, pale blue eyes examining him. She was no longer smiling, but Mel didn't notice. He blushed slightly, a light shade of pink creeping up on his face as he turned to follow Dusk through the glass doors back to the academy, mesmerized by the girl's gaze even more than he had been before.

"So, Dusk, what's the problem. Why did we have to leave?" Mel demanded once they were safely back in his dorm room, Dusk already on the lofted bed above Mel's desk, knees hugged to her chest and eyes filled with worry.

"That…was Kashchei." She bit her lip, staining it a deep red as she drew blood, though the cut quickly disappeared when she ran her tongue over it, the blood remaining on her lips as she signed.

"Cash—_who_?" Mel flopped back onto the futon sofa that he'd recently bought, just in case he needed it for a friend who needed a place to stay. Instead, Dusk had chosen the lofted bed, which _he_ had liked more than the other, empty bed that was on the ground perpendicular to the lofted one. He had initially complained, but relented when Dusk threatened to throw him out the window. How could this be the same girl he'd met the night before? She'd seemed so gentle when he met her, and then…poof. She was gone. And in her place was a girl with a temper and irrational fears. What had changed?

"Kashchei," Dusk repeated, slightly irritated. "He's the one who watches over the realm I told you about earlier. He has thirteen courtesans, all of whom are dangerous in their own way."

"Dangerous?" Mel asked, wishing that he could understand something for once instead of it just leading to more questions. "How so?"

Dusk shook her head. "You'll find out soon enough if you start dating one. Anyway, Kashchei is the one I wanted to be free from, which is why I lost to you so easily. I was desperate."

"Thanks for helping my ego, Dusk," Mel said flatly. "You lost on purpose to escape someone. I just happened to be there."

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "But it's true. You saw how I acted. I was a puppet—a pet that he kept in a cage, only free to tempt those who wandered into our realm."

"So I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or something?"

"Something like that," she nodded.

The two sat in silence as Mel continued scribbling notes down on a piece of paper from his notebook, his journal.

"But you _are_ going to help me win that girl, right?" He smiled just thinking of her silvery hair, her pale blue eyes, her porcelain skin…

"Mel!" Dusk suddenly cried, making him levitate a few inches off his chair. "Haven't you been listening to a word I've said?!"

"Y-yeah," he muttered. "But, I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"

Dusk sighed again. "A lot. Trust me."


End file.
